Liquid meniscus lenses have been known in various industries. As discussed more fully below with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, known liquid meniscus lenses were engineered in cylindrical shapes with a perimeter surface formed by points at a fixed distance from an axis which is a straight line. Known examples of the use of liquid meniscus lenses include devices such as electronic cameras and mobile phone devices.
Traditionally, an ophthalmic device, such as a contact lens and an intraocular lens include one or more biocompatible device(s) with corrective, cosmetic, or therapeutic functionality. A contact lens, for example, can provide one or more of: vision correcting functionality; cosmetic enhancement; and therapeutic effects. Each function provided by a physical characteristic of the lens. For example, a design incorporating a refractive quality into a lens can provide a vision corrective function, a pigment incorporated into the lens can provide a cosmetic enhancement, and an active agent incorporated into a lens can provide a therapeutic functionality.
More recently, a contact lens taught by the inventor in referenced applications can include an Arcuate liquid meniscus lens with a single Meniscus Wall and physical features conducive to one or both of attraction and repulsion of a liquid contained within the lens and forming a meniscus boundary with another liquid. Such lenses include a first optic proximate to a second optic with a cavity formed therebetween. A saline solution and an oil are maintained within the cavity. Application of an electrical charge to a Meniscus Wall generally located in a perimeter area of one or both of the first optic and the second optic changes the physical shape of a meniscus formed between the saline solution and oil maintained within the cavity thereby changing the power of the lens. However, some of these designs may suffer from limitations in some applications.
Consequently, what is needed are additional ophthalmic lens designs that can exploit the advantages of both diffractive and refractive variable optical structures for vision correction.